Adobe Community: Newsstand free issue and download fees

3,436 posts
May 29, 2007

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1. Bob Bringhurst,

Nov 28, 2011 5:16 PM in reply to jpriest2

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In a multi-issue app, all issues -- both free and retail -- are hosted by Adobe, not Apple. Apple hosts only the app itself.

Yes, the free edition appears inside the Newsstand multi-issue viewer along with paid-for (retail) folios.

Yes, the free edition counts against the Adobe downloads.

My understanding is that yes, there is no time limit on download bundles. They don't need to be used within a certain time period.

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2. jpriest2,

Nov 29, 2011 2:17 AM in reply to Bob Bringhurst

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Thanks for the reply Bob, much appreciated.

Could you clarify something else - I found a post that says that Apple require a free issue/preview inside the multi-issue viewer: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/916472?tstart=350

Do you know if this the case? And if so, would these downloads count as Adobe (retail) downloads?

Many thanks

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3. Bob Bringhurst,

Nov 29, 2011 9:06 AM in reply to jpriest2

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There is currently no way to build a folio inside the multi-issue viewer app. You need to publish a folio as Free and Public so that it shows up in your app library. And you publish paid-for folios as Retail and Public (and use iTunes Connect to create an in-app purchase to set the price for the folio).

Regarding free folios counting towards downloads, I'm not that familiar with the pricing details. I don't know if Adobe makes a distinction between free folios and retail folios in terms of downloads. I'll let someone else weigh in.

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4. jpriest2,

Dec 1, 2011 5:23 AM in reply to Bob Bringhurst

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Thanks Bob

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5. jmartynhopkins,

Dec 1, 2011 5:59 AM in reply to jpriest2

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Confused! I thought that a multi-folio viewer app on newsstand couldn't contain free issues as it's not yet supported (but Adobe are working on including this in January). We dont want to charge for our magazine at all - is there a way we can get it on newsstand?

Could this work:

Multi-issue viewer app goes live on newsstand now
Current folio (issue 1 of the magazine) is included as the 'free content'
No other content is currently available (paid or free)
Adobe adds full support for free issues on newsstand in January
Issue 2 (published late Jan) available for free

Thanks

M

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6. Klaasjan Tukker,

Dec 1, 2011 11:52 AM in reply to jmartynhopkins

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HI,

The Apple requirement to be part of Newsstand is to have an 'auto renewable subscription'. Adobe DPS currently only supports paid subscriptions and not (yet) free subscriptions.

If you have a newsstand enabled app (because you have a paid subscription), you also can publish folios as 'Free'.

There is no way to build a newsstand based multi folio viewer without a subscription (or a free subscription) right now. So what you propose will not work.

With kind regards,

Klaasjan Tukker

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7. jmartynhopkins,

Dec 1, 2011 12:15 PM in reply to Klaasjan Tukker

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Hi Klaasjan

Thanks for the reply. This bit doesn't compute in my tired brain: "If you have a newsstand enabled app (because you have a paid subscription), you also can publish folios as 'Free'."

Do you mean I could create a newstand-enabled app based on a paid subscription, but then I could decide to publish the first issue for free? We only have one issue so far.

Thanks again

M

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8. Bob Bringhurst,

Dec 1, 2011 6:23 PM in reply to jmartynhopkins

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For a Newsstand app, you need at least one retail folio in order to set up an auto-renewable subscription. If you have only one folio in a Newsstand app, it can't be free. You can either wait until Adobe supports free subscriptions (mid-January?), or you can create a free version of the retail folio. I basically did that with an experimental app I created called "Northwest Scenery."

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9. jmartynhopkins,

Dec 1, 2011 10:36 PM in reply to Bob Bringhurst

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Thanks for the update Bob. It's the last bit I'm struggling to understand:

or you can create a free version of the retail folio.

So I would create a new branded viewer - newsstand enabled - which would contain a single retail issue (available for say 79 pence) But I then can make a version of the same issue available for free?. So there would be two folios in the viewer (same content) one a retail version and one free?

Thanks

M

Sent from my iPhone

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10. 109walton,

Dec 3, 2011 12:47 PM in reply to jmartynhopkins

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Sorry to jump in, but it seems as good a place as anywhere.

I read this from Klassjan on another forum

You can get a subscription to DPS for US$ 495 /month. This will be invoiced annually, upfront.
When you sign your contract, a initial package of 5000 distributions is included and valid for one year
When you run out of the 5000 distributions you will be charge over-usage at US$ 0.30 per download, unless you have purchased a distribution package (which you can do when your initial distributions run out).
for example a distribution package of 25,000 costs US$ 5,500 and is valid for a year (Annual commit).
You can monitor your usage throught the provided analytics and reports.
The distribution is calculated for all folio's distributed by the Adobe Fulfillment servers and accumulated for all your titles.

I just wanted to ask whether the monthly fee can be paid monthly, and whether the distribution package can be simillarly charged monthly? I have read somewhere else about the package being only 250 downloads - is that out of date?

Many thanks

109W

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11. Bob Bringhurst,

Dec 4, 2011 8:27 AM in reply to jmartynhopkins

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109W - You can read about pricing here: http://www.adobe.com/products/digital-publishing-suite-family/buying-g uide.html

Marty - Yes, you create a duplicate folio. That's what I did in Northwest Scenery: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/northwest-scenery/id464913903?mt=8

I'm not saying that's the best approach. If you want a free app in Newsstand, in the long run it would be better off to wait until January when free subscriptions will be supported. But this is a workaround that I didn't mind doing because I wanted to test in-app purchases anyway.

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12. jmartynhopkins,

Dec 5, 2011 2:04 AM in reply to Bob Bringhurst

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Hi Bob

Thanks – yeah, I checked out the Northwest Scenery app, that’s a good workaround (especially the ‘about this app’ page ☺)…If I did go down this route for now (retail subscription app, with a retail issue and a duplicate free issue), would I have to build and submit a new branded viewer, once support for free multi-folio issues is added, or will you be able to change the pricing structure ‘locally’?

Is the support for free multi-folios reliant on Apple in any way –i.e. do they have to approve anything or is it definitely going ahead?

Thanks

Martyn

Martyn Hopkins

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13. Bob Bringhurst,

Dec 5, 2011 7:02 AM in reply to jmartynhopkins

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You would need to rebuild the app to specify the different subscription.

My understanding is that Adobe isn't relying on anything from Apple to enable free subscriptions. That's entirely on our end. It's planned for the next release in January. Like any feature, it can be dropped, but free subscriptions is a high priority.

Sent from my iPad

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14. Mel RB,

Jan 7, 2012 2:35 AM in reply to Bob Bringhurst

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Hi Bob, great info by the way (thanks in advance).

Later once the free subscription to a newsstand app is available - will folio (per issue) downloads still but charged for free issues?. I'm wanting to create a newsletter type magazine for a client who has lots of employees - if they have 20,000 employees downloading (for free) & the company are charged for each folio download then the cost would be quite expensive, cheaper to print?

Is this right?:

20k employees x 12 issues a year x Adobe folio download fee = a lot for a digital version?

Is there a way around this?

Regards

Mel

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15. Klaasjan Tukker,

Jan 7, 2012 7:53 AM in reply to Mel RB

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Hi Mel,

Distribution of folios go through the Adobe fulfillment servers. The addition of free Newsstand subscription will not change this. It will be difficult to make a one-on-one comparison with a print edition. Also with a print-run (20k copies + overhead), you have to incorporate distribution costs etc. Additionally, the digital version gives you much more features to express rich digital content. As a bonus, you can use the Analytics function to measure and analyze the consumption of the content.

In my opinion, if all almost all the employees have a tablet of some sort, DPS will show great benefits; in richness of content, easy and speed of delivery as well as insight.

With kind regards,

Klaasjan Tukker

Adobe Systems

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16. ipadru,

Jan 11, 2012 2:55 AM in reply to jpriest2

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So just to be absolutely sure.

The 1.7 viewer builder stil do not support all free magazines ??

Is there a fixed date as to when it will be available.

Kind Regards

- Lars

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17. Bob Bringhurst,

Jan 11, 2012 11:17 PM in reply to ipadru

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Viewer Builder 1.7 does not support Free Subscriptions. Viewer Builder 1.8 (which should be released early next week) will support Free Subscriptions.

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Newsstand free issue and download fees

Nov 28, 2011 3:39 AM

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